The President's Reluctant Bride; Betrayed By Love

Evelyn Grayson vowed never to be in love again with any man after being betrayed by her ex-boyfriend, Stanley. It was on the 13th day of June 2021, Evelyn traveled to spend some time with her family—her father, Paul Grayson; her mother, Josephine Grayson, and to finally meet her best friend, Cara. It had been a while since they last saw each other, so she took it upon herself to pay them a surprise visit without prior notice. They lived in Calindor; a city screaming wealth right from the border. It is known for its rich business centers, industries and hotels—the Calindor international Hotel, one of the most expensive and luxurious hotels. Only a few get to eat in such places. The high level of commerce in the city keeps it bustling. The night was cold, the streetlights glimmered gold against the roadside flowers. The night view made her a night traveler. She often takes a seat by the window so she can have a more realistic view of the night beauty of the city. Evelyn admires the sights of the colorful water fountain at night. Her face lit up, and her thin lips curled in a smile as she watched the bubbling of the colored water, like boiling water sprouting upward from the mouth of the golden eagle statue—her best sight ever since her childhood. Evelyn got home, it was 9 :00 pm. A knock on the door. "Who's there?" a voice asked from inside the house, but she never paid much attention to the voice she heard. Silence conquered her, desperate to see her parents. She stared at the door with anticipation. Her visit was meant to be a surprise, her reply could get her caught up. Anxiety crept in, goosebumps flooded her body, Evelyn couldn't contend with the ecstasy she felt at being home. The door buckle clicked from inside, and the door creaked open. She staggered in a daze, her brow narrowed in confusion. Shock flickered her whole body—struck by the strange face that stood before her. "Who are you?" She asked, not her mother. Evelyn stuttered, gripping the small bag of clothes in her hand firm, her knuckles came obvious, whitish, and her lips trembled as she struggled for words. "I....l'm looking for..." Her eyes skimmed the faces that came out to meet her with the woman who had first come out to receive her. All were strange faces. Her glance spotted the label beside the door—the residents of the flat. To her surprise, none of the names were her parents'. Her mind went blank for a while, but she snapped back out of it. "I'm....sorry, maybe it's a wrong address," she apologized and was about to leave, when a voice disrupted her turbulent mind. "Are you Grayson's daughter?" A deep voice shot from among the strange faces behind her. Her steps froze on track at the mention of Grayson, her eyes narrowed in surprise. "Yes, do you know my father?" she asked, her voice cracking at each word. "Yea, they relocated, just a few blocks down the road," the deep male voice said, giving her the description and direction to her parent's new apartment. Evelyn left without any more words. She walked down the road sulkily hugging her small traveling bag to her chest, shivering, and her teeth gnashing. She longed for some warmth against the cold, dark weather. The still and quiet ambiance of the night filled her soul with grief, she could hear her heartbeat from her chest. The tall trees whistled as the cold night breeze lulled against the leaves. So many thoughts flashed in her mind as she walked, her movement looked weary and haphazard, the sudden discovery of her parent's relocation left her in a reverie. Their relocation without informing her could only mean one thing; 'things had gotten worse than when she'd left them'. Evelyn left the house in search of a job to support her parents. Her mother was already dying of cancer, and her father was just a low-life cleaner, who earned 50 bucks monthly—hardly enough to foot their bills and feed them. He was already in his late sixties, so he couldn't overwork himself, Stanley, Evelyn's boyfriend, was the only third party support they had before she'd traveled. Stanley had lost his parents while he was just 18, and at about that time he had just met Evelyn. She supported him from the little savings she could get from selling fruits and other small-scale groceries, and from errands. She would save some for Stanley, to help him establish his business, with the hope of a better future. Their relationship transformed from supportive friendship to lovers. When they had finally succeeded in making Stanley an entrepreneur, Evelyn borrowed some money from Stanley to travel in search of a better paying job that would support him and her parents. Cara, her best friend assisted in the little way she could, but she was just a student, so she couldn't do much—mostly errands. The guilt of abandoning her parents stung her heart. The sting cut real deep. She fidgeted each time the memory crossed her mind. Her heart leaped wildly, hammering against her chest each time she remembered the pathetic situation of her family, and how she'd failed on her quest to support them. The feeling was overwhelming, and the silent night created a vacuum for her to drown in her grief. Securing a lucrative job in such an expensive city only favors high-level graduates. Unfortunately, she wasn't one of them. They lived at the far end of the city where the standard of living was a bit cheaper. Evelyn was only able to secure two part-time jobs, as a sales girl, and as a receptionist in a hotel which paid her just 50 bucks each as her salary. Every day she'd work as a sales girl from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm, while at night she'd leave for the hotel where she'd work from 7:00 pm to 5:00 am. She'd overworked herself with less than two hours of sleep each day with the hope that she'd finally be able to assist her parent. Though Evelyn had wanted to reject the first job as a sales girl hoping to get a better one with better pay, it is quite difficult to find another job with her level of education—a middle school drop out. After a thirty-minute walk, she finally arrived at the house with the description that had been given to her. She stood staring at the house where her parents lived, her eyes brimmed with tears, and agony stiffened her throat, the weight of her parent's sufferings because of her, rang 'looser' in her ears. She stood outside staring. It'd been two years since she had traveled. She hadn't been able to talk to her parents, but Stanley, who always told her they're fine. Her father wasn't that much of an educated type, and neither was her mother. Stanley was the only one who would relay her messages to them, as she'd always call him whenever she wanted to talk to them. Staring at the small wooden house with rusty zinc and an old wooden window, Evelyn couldn't help but felt pains in her heart. It ached like it was being strangled by a python. After minutes of self-blaming, she sluggishly and slowly trailed her steps towards the old house. Her hand traced the door knob, and held it for some moments, reluctant to push it open, then a knock on the door gave no response, then again and again, yet no response. She pushed the door open and stepped inside but found no one. The stench of the room poked her nostrils and she sneezed wildly. The room reeked of different drugs with some herbal concoctions left on the table, giving the room a pungent odor like a place that had been abandoned for some days. From the tiredness of the long journey and the sorrowful thoughts, drowsiness drowned her like a weight tied to her waist. She sank onto the wooden chair in the middle of the room. One arm of the chair fell off, and the rough edge made a slight cut on her ankle, but she never minded. At this point, Evelyn couldn't tell who was surprised any longer. Her supposed surprised visit to her parents in turn left her dumbfounded. She wanted nothing more at the moment than to see them, the thought of surprising them turned into a craving—to feel their warmth and to see their round faces again. She took out her phone, dialed Stanley, but the call went into his voice mail, again. This has been the case for the past two days, since she told him she'd be visiting. She never really gave a thought of what it could mean, he loved him so much, too blind to suspect him of dishonesty. Stunningly, Evelyn's eyes took in the sight of a piece of complementary card on the floor. The picture on the card aroused her curiosity. She picked it off the floor and dusted it properly, eager to be sure of what she saw, and that she wasn't hallucinating from the weary journey. The information on the card sent chills down her spine, her hands trembled, and her teeth quivered. She couldn't believe what she just read.